This year the SAE Baja team improved last years’ design of Blackjack
and transformed it into The Ocho. The Ocho featured a narrower track
width with driveshafts provided by NTN as well as an improved
suspension design. Unique to The Ocho alone is a dual rotor, single
caliper rear brake system. At the front of the car, a new front
suspension offered more travel and ground clearance along with an
increase in the strength of some critical components. The small amount
of play in the steering was eliminated and driver input was reduced with
a new steering bearing. The Ocho sported stickers by Linson Signs on new
transparent Lexan body panels, an improvement in visibility in addition
to impact resistance, from the plastic panels used in the past.
This year, the annual Baja SAE West competition was held in Rapid
City, South Dakota on May 23-26, hosted by South Dakota School of
Mines and Technology. On Static Day, the team placed very high in
design and above average in sales. Dynamic Day gave Cal Poly SLO a
chance to really shine, and we were awarded with Third Place for
Dynamic Events. Going in to the Endurance Race, we held fifth place
overall. The Endurance event began with a race to the starting line
where all cars were lined up according to the results from
Acceleration, which put us in fourth. Our driver pulled The Ocho into
second by the starting line. Cal Poly SLO fought for first and held
the lead for a good while. Unfortunately, one of the weaker cars was
stuck on the track, but our driver was able to stop in time thanks to
our improved braking system. However, the car behind us did not, and
we were rear-ended. Throughout the course of the four hour Endurance
Race, Cal Poly SLO was hit in the rear three times. Both of the rear
Elka shocks, our control links, drive shafts, and trailing arms all
suffered damage from collisions when other cars ran into and onto us.
Our gear box and frame suffered no damage, and fortunately, no one
was hurt. With a bit of teamwork, the car was fixed with replacements
each time and sent back in the race. Due to events that were out of our
control, we fell back to 26th place.  All-in-all, the competition was
a good learning experience, proving that our design could easily
conquer any course, while reminding us that there is always room for
improvement. The team hadn’t even left the competition site before
they were already underway discussing new possible features and
designs for next year.  The SAE Mini Baja team of Cal Poly SLO would
like to thank Elka, Linson Signs, NTN, Polaris, and Tilton for their
sponsorship and support. Here’s to the team and sponsors of the 2007 car #8.